Derby Talk

I believe that unless your rules allow inspections after the racing has begun you shouldn't disqualify a car for an infraction found later. The approval of the inspectors at the time of inspection is a point of no return. In our pack's last race a scout showed up with the previous year's car. We did...

Welcome to DerbyTalk. I want to make sure I understand the question. You want the top 3 overall - I think that's clear. Are you planning to give awards to each den within a rank as well as to the rank? For example, if you have 2 Wolf dens, are you planning to give awards for the fastest 3 in each de...

It sure looks like the adults had a lot of fun at that derby. I'm glad the scouts could work on their video games beltloop during the derby. I hadn't thought of doing something like that.

I can see two plausible reasons for differing times, given the same track set up in the same room. First is the condition of the track. Graphite and other debris that isn't cleaned off the track from one race to the next could affect times. Second is the physical placement of the track. Floors, no m...

Last year my 9-year-old wanted to do a pinewood derby race for his birthday party. I thought that building a car at a party would take too much time, so I decided to go with pre-made cars. I made wedge cars, weighted all of them the same (within 0.02 oz), painted them white, and attached the graphit...

In workshops that I have coordinated painting the car is not offered. Each racer is given the opportunity to leave the workshop with a rough-cut car body that is weighted within about 0.2 ounces of the allowable weight as well as polished axles and wheels. I send little pieces of sandpaper (80, 100,...

What I am looking for is which one has better documentation and functionality...The Bullet also seems to come with detailed instructions, while the Block doesn't mention them at all. The Silver bullet does come with minimal instructions and a page that lists the different camber angles that result ...

So its ok to drill at different heights on the front and the back? Also, is it ideal to have the fronts lower than the back or the opposite? I drill one front wheel at 1/8" from the bottom of the block and the other just slightly higher causing a raised wheel. I haven't tested to see if drilli...

I generally do 1/8" and a 3* cant on the rears. Whatever you do, you will want to start the hole high enough in the block so that you avoid drilling through the bottom of the block. I suggest mounting the block in the silver bullet at your canting angle then sliding the end of the assembly up t...

I think the answer depends on how consistent you want your racing surface. Varnish, polyurethane, paint or other such finishes can leave a nice surface, but will be inconsistent when applied and cured at home. For example, when applied with a brush the start of the brush stroke will contain more fin...

I agree local lumber yards are probably cheaper, and most likely better quality wood I don't know that the quality is necessarily any different at lumber yards. The stock at Home Depot/Lowes has alreay been planed down and is surfaced (i.e. flat) on all four sides. You are paying to have someone do...

It is very rare to find knot-free pine. Pine wood is classified into one of four grades: C, D, #1 and #2, with C being the clearest (i.e. fewest knots) and #2 being the most knotty. Places like Lowes and Home Depot generally carry C grade pine in 1" thickness (actual thickness is closer to 3/4&...

I go to 25-30 races a year and see a lot of cars as I rent out a track and run races for packs nearby. When I do a race I like to have cars go down the track at least once before the racing begins in an effort to make sure all the cars make it to the end. It is not uncommon to have a car not make it...

Light sanding of the wheel treads to remove irregularities is permissible, but must be done with great care to avoid going below minimum wheel diameter specifications or minimum wheel weight specifications outlined below So, If one were to lightly sand wheels with reckless abandon and still meet di...

Another option is to not impound the cars. Let the car owner handle the transportation of his/her car. Another, brief inspection (perhaps consisting only of re-weighing the cars) could be done on raceday if there are concerns of improper adjustments being made between inspection and racing.